This research study is designed to investigate the approaches to noninvasive detection and assessment of coronary vascular dysfunction in women by comparing the testing results from the invasive standard care diagnostic procedure Angiogram and from the additional noninvasive diagnostic procedure CMR Imaging. The investigators want to specifically study 375 female patients who have signs or symptoms suggestive of heart disease but don't have obstructive coronary artery disease. Two study sites (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and University of Florida) are recruiting participants.

The standard of care procedures include demographics, review of recent clinical symptoms, review of medications being taken, a physical exam, pre-angiogram blood collection, chest x-ray, ECG and heart angiogram. The research procedures for this study are the cold pressor testing, blood/urine collection, health questionnaire, the post-angiogram ECG and cardiac MRI.

Patients will be asked to undergo heart angiogram testing to test for abnormalities in their heart arteries. If the heart angiogram shows that the patients do not have blockages in major heart arteries, then the patients will have coronary flow reserve measurement test (as part of the heart angiogram) to determine whether the patients have abnormally functioning of the small heart arteries. This test will be performed by infusing the three drugs: adenosine, acetylcholine and nitroglycerin. The three drugs are naturally occurring substances and have been used for routine heart angiograms.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging may help us more easily and non-invasively detect abnormalities in the inner layer of the heart muscle resulting from the abnormal function of the heart arteries. All the 375 participants will undergo baseline CMR imaging test and a subgroup of 200 participants will undergo a second CMR imaging test at their at least 1-year followup visit.

Persistent Chest Pain Symptoms [ Time Frame: up to 4 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Detailed information on chest pain symptoms will include the traditional angina questionnaire and the WISE female angina questionnaire

Quality of Life Outcomes [ Time Frame: up to 4 years ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]

Quality of life and functional capacity will be collected using the standard instruments of SAQ and DASI

Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA

Blood sample will be collected for future genetic studies to better understand heart artery disease by identifing genetic factors that contribute to heart artery disorders, and for extraction and creation of cell lines.

Women with intermediate coronary stenoses (> 20% but < 50% luminal diameter stenosis assessed visually at the time of angiography) will undergo clinically indicated IVUS testing based on the judgment of the operator; those determined to have flow-obstructing stenosis will be excluded from the overall study.

Participation in a research study that conflicts with the current WISE study.

Women with coronary stenosis ≥ 50% in any epicardial coronary artery, assessed visually at the time of angiography, will not be included in the CRT subgroup.

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00832702